Botanical classification: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L.
Varietal denomination: The new plant has the varietal denomination xe2x80x98HEARTBEATxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., which was developed in a controlled breeding program in Webster, Tex.
The genus Hibiscus comprises about 250 species of herbs, shrubs and trees in warm temperature and tropical regions; with leaves usually simple, mostly palmately veined, lobed or parted; flowers mostly solitary in the leaf axils but sometimes in racemes, corymbs or panicles. Hibiscus is included in the family Malvaceae, which comprises about 95 genera of herbs, shrubs and trees originating in tropical and temperature regions. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is a glabrate shrub, seldom over 8 feet tall in cultivation, but treelike to 15 feet or more in tropical regions. Leaves to 6-inches long, ovate, usually serrate, mostly glossy green. Flowers solitary in upper leaf axils.
The new Hibiscus is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Webster, Tex. The objective of the program was to create new Hibiscus selections with improved bloom quality, color and floriferousness, plants that can be commercially produced on their own root systems, and improved plant habit with regard to vigor and postproduction longevity.
The new Hibiscus originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor using xe2x80x98Miss Libertyxe2x80x99 (not patented) as the female parent and xe2x80x98Burnished Goldxe2x80x99 (not patented) as the male parent. The new Hibiscus was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled breeding program in Webster, Tex.
The new variety was discovered in a controlled breeding program of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and differs from its parents and other known cultivars of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis by the following characteristics in combination:
1. Upright, compact symmetrical plant habit that is suitable for container production;
2. Healthy green foliage;
3. Vigorous growth habit;
4. Large dark pink to light red flowers with perfect symmetry and depth of color;
5. Free-flowering.
Asexual reproduction of the new variety by stem cuttings, performed in Webster, Tex. and Fulshear, Tex. have confirmed that the distinctive characteristics of the new variety are stable and transmitted to succeeding generations, and the new variety reproduces true to type.
xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 is distinguished from its female parent xe2x80x98Miss Libertyxe2x80x99 (not patented) by having a more consistent flower color throughout than the pink blend of xe2x80x98Miss Libertyxe2x80x99; also, xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 had a dark eye compared to the white eye of xe2x80x98Miss Libertyxe2x80x99. xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 is also a strong, upright, well-branched plant with more disease resistant foliage than xe2x80x98Miss Libertyxe2x80x99. xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 is distinguished from its male parent xe2x80x98Burnished Goldxe2x80x99 (not patented) by its flower color; flowers of xe2x80x98Burnished Goldxe2x80x99 are a mixture of gold and reddish brown with a smooth surface and no tufting.
Plants of xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 can be compared to plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 (not patented). However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Webster, Tex., plants of xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 differ from plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 in the following characteristics:
1. Flowers of xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 are brighter in color than flowers of xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99;
2. Plants of xe2x80x98Heartbeatxe2x80x99 are easier to propagate via vegetative cuttings than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99;